Liquidity Management Centre (LMC), the Bahrain-based bank, has taken aggressive steps towards enhancing its financial position in order to adequately prepare itself for future opportunities.

By being prudent, the bank has approved taking a relatively large share of provisions for its portfolios.

As a result, LMC recorded a net loss of $8.6 million for the period ended September 30, in comparison to a net income of $3.5 million for the same period in 2009.

The unrealised losses amounted to $9.4 million for the period.

The bank recorded a net loss of $7.5 million for the third quarter in comparison to a net income of $1.5 million last time.

The bank's net income before fair value changes and impairment provisions stood at $781,000.

During this time, the bank secured several exits from sukuk, primarily arranged by it with funds fully paid to its investors.

Driven by its cautious approach, the bank has elected to stay liquid and not replace these successfully redeemed sukuk which is evident in its liquidity ratios.

The bank's total assets have decreased from $266.9 million to $234.3 million.

'Looking forward, though difficult in such a challenging environment, we continue to believe that this year and next may carry opportunities for cautious investors,' said chairman Emad Al Monayea.

'Many indicators are currently attesting to a positive outlook for the GCC.

'For example, oil prices continue its upward trend to around $80-85 per barrel, significantly above the average price anticipated by many GCC fiscal budgets for 2010,' he said.

'The international sukuk market in general is rebounding with an encouraging outlook. We remain hopeful but cautious at the same time,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service